Most aldermen seem inclined to protect local businesses by sitting out any casino sweepstakes in the near future. But after the ongoing Wyndham Hotel discussions and now this, Ald. Ralph Hanauer is frustrated.
“it just seems like we don’t have an overall plan on this whole downtown or whatever,” he said during a forty-minute debate over whether to ask the state for a casino license. “It’s like we’re throwin’ this up, or we’re throwin’ this up.”
Owners of restaurants and video game parlors were in the council chambers to voice their opposition. Ald. Shawn Gregory was one of the few to say, maybe this is a good idea.
“We have busloads – charter buses – that take people from our city to the casinos,” he said. “People who live here and take their money and go to a casino. because we don’t have one here. They go to Peoria. They go to St. Louis. Often. Like it’s a thing.”
The discussion went nowhere. Mayor Langfelder’s idea to ask the state to consider Springfield for a casino license is held in committee. It’s unlikely the legislature will consider casino gambling expansion this year.